Wendel Abel - I AM WHAT I THINKOH, I weep for thee my country. More than 900 Jamaicans murdered. These are the figures for a country at war. The entire society has become unlawful. We are all confused as to what to do.
This epidemic of violence must be treated with the utmost seriousness. All measures have failed, and failed miserably to date. Here are my suggestions.
1. Inner-city regeneration: The inner cities have been allowed to disintegrate. They now exist as disorganised neighbourhoods. Crime-infested. Politically tribalised. High unemployment rates. Dysfunctional communities with corroded value systems. It is commendable that efforts are now being made to regenerate many of these communities. These efforts must, however, be sustained and comprehensive. The fact is, these communities have to be socially re-engineered. This will demand a substantial investment of resources.
2. Enforce law and order: This is an unlawful, poorly-governed, mismanaged, indisciplined and aggressive society. The crime and violence is a symptom of this society. Laws are not enforced. That is why Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie must be applauded. He is merely doing his job, trying to maintain a clean, organised and orderly city. What was the previous mayor doing? What are the other mayors doing? Our bureaucrats are not doing their jobs.
3. A gun amnesty: There are far too many guns out there in these communities. Guns are available to all. Guns are available to the youngest. The gun culture has proliferated in many communities and is deeply integrated into lifestyles. A gun amnesty is
needed now.
4. A clean political establishment: We know our politicians collaborate with the dons, the gunmen and the unlawful elements. We know them. We can name them. Many of them dare not enter their constituencies without collaborating with these elements. Let us stop pretending, stop being hypocrites. Our politicians are too self-serving and too myopic in their vision. There is no point occupying Gordon House while this country is going down the drain. But that seems to be acceptable to many of them. We all must take responsibility and we must hold them all accountable.
5. The media: The media glamorises crime, violence and vulgarity. If we expose the crude and vulgar behaviour, then very soon we accept it as a way of life. The images we portray in our media should be screened for decency, good taste and decorum. Advertisers should not associate products with some of those vulgar, crude and distasteful advertisements that are associated with the worst among us.
6. We must act now: The existence of this country is threatened. The recent achievements of our athletes at the Olympics speak to our potential as a people and the possibilities. We need to get ourselves organised. To begin to manage ourselves. To restore this country to a state of law and order. We need to create a Jamaica that is open, tolerant and inclusive and at the same time, a Jamaica that is managed, organised and has respect for all laws. The traffic violations, the littering of our streets, the loud music in our communities, the illegal garages, the squatting, the destruction of our watershed and the guns in our communities are unacceptable. If we are going to succeed, we must fix all of these now! Without this we will never move forward. We will never succeed.
7. Bold, firm leadership: We need bold, firm and consistent leadership. And now. This country has always vacillated in taking bold and decisive action. Let us fix the problems that gnaw at our psyche and fix them.
May God help us. Let us take firm and decisive actions now.
Dr. Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
